


Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly

by smuttyshitposting



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Bondage, Butt Plugs, Egg Laying, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/F, Forced Orgasm, Giant Spiders, Look it's porn of the Web it is as creepy and sexy and horrifying as that entails, Mind Control, Multi, Other, Pinching, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sex with the embodiment of the fear of your will not being your own will mess with your head, Spanking, Spiders, Talking about past rape/non-con, those tags were a wild ride to write and I don't think I missed anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 23:04:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smuttyshitposting/pseuds/smuttyshitposting
Summary: Basira's been having very strange dreams since she staked out Annabelle Cane.





	Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween the Web is sexy  
For real though, my other fic is a shitpost, this is full-on twisted dark stuff because Annabelle can Get It and then she started scaring me. Check the tags, you have been warned. I don't fucking know. I just wanna bang monsters.

Basira was asleep, a myriad unreadable expressions flickering across her face. Daisy propped herself up, looking down at her, frowning.

Basira twitched. A soft whimper escaped her lips, and she moved again. Her eyes flickered behind her eyelids. She moaned.

“Hey, Basira,” Daisy murmured.

She shifted again, the sheets twisting over her. Daisy grabbed her shoulder and shook gently.

“Hey!” Daisy said.

Basira’s eyes opened slowly. She looked around the room, slowly focusing back on Daisy, breathless. She wetted her lips, staring. It took her a second to form words, but she fell silent.

“You looked like you were having a nightmare,” Daisy said softly.

“I… yeah,” Basira said.

“Feeling ok?” Daisy said.

“I… better now,” Basira said.

“That’s good,” Daisy said. Her voice was gentle, and for a moment Basira felt a surge of elation just at seeing that look on Daisy’s face. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one who ever saw it.

It had been the same before the coffin, but it had never been this frequent. Her heart still leapt every time.

Basira swallowed and looked away. She was shaking slightly.

“Basira?” Daisy said.

Basira sat up abruptly, shifting out from under the sheets, not quite looking back at Daisy. She was still trembling slightly. It didn’t seem to be from fear.

“You’ve been having a few dreams like that,” Daisy said. “I’ve seen. You’d say if things weren’t ok, right?”

Basira said nothing. After a second, she stood up.

“We should get going,” Basira said. She barely seemed to believe her own words. “Don’t want to be late.”

* * *

Working at the Institute was always a strange affair. Daisy couldn’t shake the impression that most of what she did didn’t actually matter; all things considered, that was probably good. It gave her a distraction at least.

File a few things away, change the order of a few more things… it was very clear that all the Institute really cared about was the statements.

She supposed mindless busywork was better than helping any of the entities. So long as she kept busy, she didn’t dwell on how constricting it felt to be inside, and how hungry part of her was.

She was making sure a few unrecorded files were suitably arranged when Basira walked into the room. Jon, the room’s only other occupant, jerked up from where he was sitting on the floor.

Yep, he’d been on the floor again. It had looked almost like he was meditating; Daisy rolled her eyes. It was still kind of creepy when he did that.

“Jon, out,” Basira said.

“Huh?” he managed.

“I want to talk to Daisy,” Basira said. She hesitated. “And I think this place is probably the easiest to do it. I don’t want you listening in.”

Jon faltered, then met her eyes and nodded.

“Right. Um,” he said. “An hour?”

“At least,” Basira said.

Daisy looked between the two, and watched as Jon walked out of the room. Basira breathed a sigh of relief, shut the door behind him, and then walked over. She took a seat. When Daisy took one, Basira still didn’t immediately look up.

There was a whirring as a tape recorder suddenly appeared on the table. Daisy glanced down at it, scowling; Basira seemed indifferent.

“You asked about my dreams,” Basira said. “It’s… complicated. I’ve been having similar ones lately, and I think I know why, just… It goes back to a few weeks ago.”

“Are you ok?” Daisy said.

Basira hesitated, then didn’t answer.

“I guess it’s easier to say everything in the Archives,” Basira said. “Just, promise not to tell? I’m not sure I’m really ready for that. But I trust you.”

“Of course, Basira,” Daisy said.

“Then, I guess, let’s do this,” Basira said.

She shifted, getting herself comfortable for a second. A fond smile had crossed her face when Daisy had said her name; she’d always liked how Daisy said it. Then, with a deep breath, she began.

“It started at Hill Top Road. I went there to do recon, keep an eye on Annabelle Cane, like you know. It just didn’t go as smoothly as I said. She found out. I still don’t know exactly how, if she just caught sight of me, or was spying on me with those spiders, or if she’s the whole reason I went there in the first place.

“On the second day I was there, I got to my stake-out place and had just settled in when she came up behind me. I knew who she was instantly. Tall, dark-skinned, not physically strong but there was still something about her that made her seem like she could overpower you, natural hair over half her head and wisps of grey web over the other. I could see her skin peeling away. It didn’t seem like the web would have been strong enough to hold together, but somehow it was.

“She smiled at me, and I saw a spider crawl over her teeth and down her throat. She didn’t seem to notice. She just told me to come with her. I did. It was… like being dragged, like there were a million tiny threads tugging on my skin, and I was just carried along behind her into her house.”

Daisy reached out, resting a hand gently on Basira’s. Basira glanced at her as if to say something; she didn’t, too caught up in the flow of narration. The Archives could have that effect.

She closed her eyes and let the story speak itself. Things she could never have said spilled from her lips like rain from the sky.

“I thought I was going to die. Avatars aren’t exactly know for letting people go, after all. She turned around and looked me in the eyes, and I saw spiders playing around in the web on the side of her head, before I saw them crawl away inside her. It was strange. I only ever saw a couple on her or inside her, and they never seemed to leave, but they still infested the house.

“The room she took me too was covered in web, the walls, the ceiling, all the corners filled with layer after layer of silk. It even brushed my ankles while I walked.

“Annabelle lifted one of her arms. I did the same. I mirrored her exactly, and I saw her smile; I felt my heart race. It’s such a strange feeling to not control your own body, to have it move without any thought from you. She lifted her other arm, and I did the same, holding both hands over my head.

“She took a step towards me, and I took a step back. I don’t think I was in control of that either. She stepped forwards again, and I stepped away, until I bumped into the wall, and there… I felt spiders crawl onto me. They crawled over my wrists and forearms and hands, and I couldn’t move, I just stood there as they span a web over me. I didn’t know what she was planning, or what she was going to do.

“Annabelle lowered her arms after a few minutes, and I could feel myself regain control, as if strings had been cut, even though I hadn’t noticed when she’d started controlling me. I tried to pull my hands free, but the web was so much stronger than any normal web. The spiders crawled back onto the wall and left my hands trapped where they’d left me, and Annabelle took a step closer.

“’Don’t spiders eat the flies they catch in their web?’ she said. I remember that, it was the first time she’d spoken to me since outside. She smiled.

“Then she walked away, leaving me there. I didn’t know what she meant. I didn’t _think_ she was going to actually eat me, that isn’t something the Web does, but I could hardly discount the possibility. In retrospect I know she feeds on fear, though that wasn’t all.

“When she returned, she’d brought a knife from the other room. I struggled as she brought it closer. I felt the cool of the metal against my throat, and for a moment I thought that was it, I was going to die… and instead she sliced down, a hair’s breadth from cutting my skin. She sliced through my shirt, and one of my bra straps.

“I don’t know exactly when I realised she was going to rape me. It wasn’t after the first cut. I don’t think it was the second either, though that one made the front of my shirt fall away. It was before she cut my bra away entirely, I think, though that was after the first slice she made in my trousers…

“I couldn’t focus on the exact order she did everything. It wasn’t long before I was… not naked, exactly. My arms still had their sleeves on, caught up in the web, and I still had shoes and socks on, and torn remains of my trousers, but everything else… She cut my knickers off last, and I felt the cold of the blade terrifying close to me. I felt sure she’d drawn blood, but when I looked down there was nothing.

“She put the knife down without a word. That was the next time I felt spiders, and I started struggling more, though they only went as high as my knees at first. They restrained my ankles at first, tying me up even more completely than before so I couldn’t even kick at her. I knew, then, that I was completely at her mercy. The web was too thick and too strong for me to break.

“Then the spiders went higher. I remember the sensation of hundreds of tiny legs crawling up my bare thighs, though they gave a small berth to my core. That was Annabelle’s, I remember thinking; she wanted to be the first to touch it.

“They wove one last strand of web over my stomach, just under my breasts, doing one last act to ensure I was powerless. I… That’s what the Web does, isn’t it? Convinces us we’re powerless, that we have no choice.

“I really didn’t have any. I want to think that’s why she did it. She didn’t want to rape me, she didn’t find me attractive, she just thought it was the easiest way to have me terrified of how little control I had. It worked. I could just wait there, squirming with what little freedom I had, as the spiders crawled up over my chest and over my shoulders; I thought they were going to my face at first, and struggled more, and Annabelle just smirked as they crawled off me before even reaching my neck.

“At last she took a step closer to me, and I couldn’t move back this time. I was bound and pinned against the wall, caught in her web, and just had to accept it as she let her hand glide up my leg. I told her what I thought of her, I glared, and she smiled.

“’Do you want me to stop?’ she said. Of course I said I did. She just asked ‘Really?’ and moved her hand up higher. ‘I won’t do anything that you don’t want, deep down. If you aren’t wet for me then I’ll let you go free, if you don’t moan for me I won’t continue. Everything here is in your control.’ She said it with that same smirk, like we both knew it was a lie.

“Her hand went higher. I _was_ wet. I couldn’t help it. Back then I insisted to myself it was all just the normal talk, the usual lies, trying to trick me, she just wanted me to _think_ she wasn’t controlling every little thing my body did. Now I’m not so sure she was. I think I…”

Daisy squeezed her hand. Her face had become a mask, not letting anything get through the cracks for fear of distracting Basira.

“Nothing was your fault,” Daisy said.

“I know that,” Basira said. She hesitated. “Intellectually, I know that, but that’s how the fears work isn’t it? Especially _her_, making you believe you’d do something you never would. Even knowing that, I still sometimes think…”

Her voice trailed off. She swallowed, and then slipped back into the narrative with remarkable ease. She was able to speak of it with so much less hesitation when she was telling the story.

“She looked into my eyes every second her fingers were inside me. There were just two at first, and she curled them, and… she played me, that’s the only way I can describe it. There was no awkward fumbling, no seduction, she knew exactly what she was doing and she did it, she had total control over my body, knowing exactly where to touch and how hard and how long, and I came apart faster than I ever have before.

“She never looked away. Called me a slut for how quickly I’d cum. She didn’t say it like an insult, more like it was just a descriptor, smiling all the while and still never breaking eye contact. Then she asked if I wanted to try fitting her whole hand inside me.

“I told her to fuck off. Her two fingers were still in me though; she wiggled them, and said it felt like I wanted it. ‘Look how quickly you screamed for me, I think you know what you want.’ I tried to wriggle again, somehow I still thought I could get free, as she added a third finger.

“I think that was the point. I had no control, not of my body’s reactions, not of what my body could do, but it happened anyway. My mind was scared, wanted her to stop, wanted her to let me go, but I could feel my body almost pulling her in, aching for more. At least that’s what I tell myself.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to take more than four fingers. She was stroking slowly, and it felt like I was at my limit, even past it, with all four sliding inside me. Then she added her thumb anyway. I didn’t scream, I didn’t, but part of me wanted to. I wasn’t sure if it hurt more at being stretched, or it hurt knowing that I was adjusting to her so easily. I felt like I was dripping around her wrist.

“’You aren’t going to cum from this are you? Not if you hate it so much’ she said, and she just smirked like she _knew_ I could feel it building aside me again. She clenched her fist and I felt it shudder through me, I felt _her_ everywhere…

“She didn’t just make me cum the once. One moment I didn’t think I’d be able to take her hand, the next I couldn’t stop screaming, and not just in a bad way. My throat was sore, I was shaking, and she still looked up at me. If I tried to look away she grabbed my hair with her other hand and jerked me back to make sure I was staring at her, to make sure I knew who was doing this to me.

“I could still see the web poking out from her skull, and it didn’t make my orgasms any less intense, or any harder to reach.

“I don’t know what made her stop. I remember moaning, and remember feeling humiliated at how needy I sounded, when she slowly pulled her hand back. I felt… empty, suddenly, without her there. I wasn’t thinking. I don’t think I could have thought anything, not then, I could barely breathe. It still wasn’t like I wanted it, but I couldn’t stop myself… It felt good.

“I know that’s who she is, I know that’s what she does, the fear that makes you do things you never otherwise would, but experiencing it, I almost _asked_ her for more, and I hate that I felt that way.

“When she stopped, for a second I almost thought it was over, and I was disappointed. Can you believe that? I felt _sad_ that I wouldn’t get to feel that way any more. That was her messing with my head, it- it had to be. But that wasn’t it. She lifted her hand to my lips, and forced me to open my mouth, to lick her fingers clean. It was humiliating, getting firsthand knowledge like that of just how wet I’d gotten.

“I don’t know why I didn’t bite her; I didn’t even think of it, I just obediently tasted myself, lapped it up while she stroked my hair through my veil like this was something gentle.

“’Do you see what you are?’ she said. Her voice sounded… soothing, almost. ‘Do you see what I can make you be, my little slut? And you still want more, don’t you?’

“She made me nod, or at least I think she did. I don’t know, but… she must have, she must have, there was no way I’d have asked for more back then. Only when her hand was clean did she move back, and keep moving back until she wasn’t in arm’s reach. She looked me up and down while I still struggled to catch my breath. I looked at her, still unruffled, my head light enough that when I tried to focus on her eyes it looked like she had more than two. She was smirking again, lips open enough to show teeth.

“Then I heard the footsteps. The web around me tugged and vibrated as spiders crawled out of wherever they’d been, swarming over the wall. I couldn’t turn my head much, but from what I saw there must have been hundreds.

“They came towards me. I started struggling again, summoning up what little energy I had in the hope my bindings were weaker, but they weren’t. They reached my skin, my face, and that time they crawled up onto me. I felt them, dozens of legs climbing up onto my cheeks then crossing over my lips, and nose, and up to my eyes. I squirmed; I even screamed again, though I didn’t think anyone would hear.

“I pressed my lips as tightly closed as I can and shut my eyes. They still crawled over me, weaving again; I felt the pressure of them, and felt the weight begin to settle over my face. More web. I was just glad they didn’t seem to be trying to crawl inside me yet. The spiders crossed my eyelids and mouth, spindly legs feeling like they were prying, but they didn’t probe too hard.

“I kept my mouth and eyes closed even when it seemed like they’d gone away. Annabelle didn’t say anything. She just waited.

“She was feeding, I guess. It’s not like I wasn’t scared, anyone would be, trapped and at the mercy of an avatar, her spiders, and my body acting of its own accord every time she touched me. And then I tried to open my eyes and realized I couldn’t, nor could I even open my mouth to scream, my eyelids and lips webbed tightly down. I could breathe, just, but I couldn’t even see what she was going to do. I couldn’t even plead for her to stop any more.

“It was her mouth, next. She never made me touch her; I remember that, she just wanted to fuck me. I guess that was the point. I was the one who had no control, I was the one whose body reacted even without any obvious supernatural intervention. It’s… scary, to realize how easily you can feel pleasure even when you just want to get away.

“I don’t think she wanted me to see her on her knees. She had to be, I suppose, to have her tongue against me, but I just couldn’t picture it. I came again against her lips and she didn’t stop, she pinned my legs apart with two hands as best she could with my feet bound as they were, and she kept going.

“Then I felt more hands. I think it was just her, I’ve heard the statements about Annabelle, but I didn’t see. For all I know she invited more people in, more avatars or more victims, more hands on me as I still struggled with silent yells.

“Two hands reached up to my breasts. Her fingertips dug in as she ate me out, palms rubbing against my nipples, and one more hand grabbed my ass. She… That was two on my chest, two on my thighs, one behind, and one last and that slid two fingers into me along with her tongue. Along with her legs, it was eight.

“She made me cum again, and again, until I couldn’t take any more, and then she kept going until it _hurt_. She stopped when I couldn’t scream any more, when I would have been crying if my eyes weren’t webbed shut, and…”

Basira faltered. She took a deep, shaky breath, looking down at her lap. Slightly uncomfortably, she shifted.

“When Annabelle was finished, she leant in and kissed me on the cheek like it was nothing, and thanked me,” Basira said. “She said… she said people like me always tasted the best. The liars. I don’t- I know I lied to Jon when I first came here, any decent police officer working a suspect would, I thought that was what she meant, but I just _thought_ that and she chuckled.

“’You’re lying to yourself, pretending you didn’t crave every second of what I did to you. Not everyone wants to be in control, you’ve just convinced yourself otherwise, but I know how you screamed for me and I felt your cunt hunger for more. Keep lying to yourself, lies taste the sweetest.’

“She said that. Then… then she let me go. Something freed my hands, and I stumbled forwards, I tore the web from my mouth and eyes and feet, and by the time I looked up she was gone.

“I didn’t stay. I ran back to my car as soon as the street was clear; I had a spare jacket in there so I still had something to wear, but I still hurried home. I- I didn’t want to say anything. I couldn’t talk about it. It just felt… That was how I met Annabelle Cane.”

Basira fell silent for a long second. She shifted again, pressing her legs together tightly, before making herself look back up at Daisy. She looked more self-conscious than afraid.

Then she swallowed. Her fingers dug into her own legs, bunching up her trousers as she squirmed, breath coming a little faster. Daisy hesitated; she’d seen that expression on her girlfriend before.

“I’m telling you about how I got raped, and I’m getting turned on from it. How messed up is that?” Basira said. She managed a hollow-sounding laugh. “I want to say it’s just this place, or Annabelle, but honestly I don’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Daisy said. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t change anything. I’m sorry…”

Daisy’s voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure what she was meant to say, what she could say; Basira didn’t react.

None of that changed anything. How she reacted, how she chose to deal with it, was personal to her. Daisy could hardly judge her for anything that went on connected to any avatars; more than anything, she just felt guilty she hadn’t been there to help sooner.

Basira hadn’t said. It was a while since she’d been watching Annabelle, weeks since that must have happened. And all that time she’d said nothing.

“It’s not over,” Basira said, voice quieter. “That was… I’ve never met her, not in person, not since then, but things have been… weird.”

Daisy tried to speak. She had to wet her throat.

“Weird?” Daisy said.

“Like… a spider, in the Institute,” Basira said. “I was out in the café having lunch when it crawled over the table in front of me. I didn’t immediately think Annabelle, but it wasn’t as though I _liked_ spiders. I moved to squash it with my cup, but I couldn’t; something stopped me, and that’s when I started to think of her.

“Then… You know the cafe. I know you don’t like to eat there much, but you must have been through. It’s not the busiest place, no one likes to hang around near Institute much, but everyone here has to eat somewhere, so they go to that little place just down the road, and there’s always half a dozen people in there.

“The spider looked at me, and I put my sandwich down and slipped one hand under the table. I couldn’t help myself. I wasn’t alone, but I still needed to do it, unbutton my trousers under the table and slide one hand between my legs.

“I tried to keep my expression masked. Annabelle just wanted to remind me, I assumed, make sure I didn’t forget how at her mercy I had been, and still was. She _is_ control. If she wants me to do something, then I’ll just do it, even if that means masturbating in a coffee shop.

“It only lasted a minute or so, stroking myself until I was breathing faster and aching, biting my lip to keep from making a sound. I was scared, but in a different way. I was scared of people knowing.

“It was another violation, but it was a different kind of one. She wasn’t just making me cum, she was making me do it with my own hand, giving me even less control of my body. I might be able to explain it, especially to Archive staff, but it would still mean admitting she had that power over me. Even now I don’t like saying all the things she’s done to me.

“The spider crawled away just as I reached the brink. It didn’t take very long; that’s still a little embarrassing. After… After I didn’t finish my meal, just stood up, went to the bathroom, bit one wrist and tried very, very hard not to think of Annabelle when I came.”

Basira hesitated again. Daisy still hadn’t looked away, though something burned in her eyes.

It was sympathy, but it wasn’t just sympathy. A part of herself she tried to push away burned at the thought of Annabelle. She inhaled herself, steadied her mind, and when she spoke she managed to have a level voice.

“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of,” Daisy said. “You know that, don’t you? She was making you do it.”

“I don’t know,” Basira said. “That’s one of the worst parts. Sometimes I’m so sure I’m just a puppet on a string, other times it feels like… She gets into my head. I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologise for,” Daisy said.

“Even when I think of her?” Basira said. She faltered, and took another breath. “I love you. But sometimes she slips into my mind when I try to think of you, and I don’t- I don’t know what she’s doing to me.”

Daisy squeezed her hand.

“Nothing we can’t stop,” Daisy said. “You believe in me, I’ll always believe in you.”

“I… I should probably finish,” Basira said. “If I’ve gone this far, you should know everything.”

“If you’re sure,” Daisy said. “We don’t have to do all this now.”

“We should,” Basira said. “I want to get it out of the way.”

She shifted again. That time she was less shy about adjusting her legs, a flicker of guilt in her expression at the effect her own stories were having on her.

“This morning, you wondered about the dreams,” Basira said. “They started the night after the spider in the café. I’d close my eyes, and I’d be back at Hill Top Road, and the same thing would happen. It was realistic at first, like I was just reliving the experience. I always woke up soaked; you probably remember. I didn’t say much, but I woke you up after, kissed you, tried to focus on your touch, and you were always so glad to try to help fuck the memory out of me.

“Over time though, the dreams started to become… surreal. I was never sure they were _just_ dreams. They might have been, but they felt _different_. I don’t think my mind would come up with things like that.

“At first it was just the setting that changed. Rather than the front room at Hill Top Road, I’m trapped in a web, an actual web, not just a web-covered wall. It stretches off as far as I can see, and all around me is darkness. I don’t know where the light comes from, but I can see the threads of silk in the familiar pattern if I tilt my head, but I’m stuck to it. I have a little pull, I can move my neck and slight bend my knees or wrists, but I’m restrained like before, only spread-eagled. I’m naked. No clothes, nor underwear, nor socks, nor even my hijab.

“Annabelle climbs up to me. The first few times she only had four limbs, but after that… She crawls along the web without worrying about being caught on it, and straddles me when she gets close, and smiles like I’ve gotten her a gift.

“I never forgot the first time I saw her eyes. They were black, entirely, spider eyes. She smiled at me.

“Even that started out… familiar. It’s strange how quickly even that can become familiar, she does the same things to me as ever, until she doesn’t. She gives me fingers, and her fist, and her tongue, and makes me spend the night screaming in what would be easier to bear if it was pain.

“One night, she decided to hurt me.

“I’d been asleep for an hour or so. I’d been lying stuck to that web for all that time, unable to move, just waiting for her to finally crawl up to me, and when she did she smiled again. Then, rather than follow the usual pattern, she crept beside me and slipped through the web until she was on the far side.

“Then I felt her hand crack against me. It was my ass, of course it was, and her hand kept going down. I bit my lip; I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of making a sound, but nights can be so long. Soon it stung so much that I whimpered, and I heard her chuckle, and she kept spanking.

“She had other hands too. As soon as I made the first sound, they moved. One pulled my hair, another reached out to my breast; she pinched, then pinched the other with another hand. Another wrapped around my throat and squeezed until I could barely breathe, and throughout it all she slapped, and spanked, and pinched me.

“One hand, she slid over my core, not dipping inside but just making sure she knew exactly how wet I was. Then when her fingers were soaked she drew her hand back between my legs, and pushed one finger into another hole. I gasped at that.

“I’d say I didn’t know what she was doing, but that was a lie. She never spoke much save to thank me, or tell me I was enjoying it, or calling me names for enjoying it; she never explained herself, but she didn’t have to. She’s the fear of being manipulated, of losing control, and that’s exactly what she did to me time and time again, to every little part of me.

“And then she whispered in my ear; she told me to ask for more. I- I didn’t hesitate. I hated myself for begging but I did anyway. She hadn’t touched my core, just tormented the rest of me until I was sore and stinging, and somehow I _still_ wanted her inside me.

“She gave me what I wanted, and I woke up sore. I didn’t ask for your help the morning after that. I felt… guilty, I knew I couldn’t stop what she was doing to me but it still felt wrong being with someone else, even in dreams, when I was sleeping beside you.

“Even when she was hurting me, my body still reacted, no matter what my mind wanted. I could shout for her to stop but sooner or later I’d start pleading.

“She barely even looked human any more. Eight limbs climbing up over the web, reaching me. The next night she finally had me go down on her instead. She climbed up, legs either side of me, and pressed her core to my face. Two pairs of hips squeezed around my head, and I couldn’t breathe without tasting her.

“Nothing was making me do it, I know, but still I… she tasted odd. Sharp, and tangy, and my tongue curled inside her, easily finding the places that made her legs tighten around me. She didn’t moan; the noises she made were low and breathy, and I hated how much I almost felt _proud_ when she made them.

“When she came…”

Basira faltered again. She was shaking slightly, the usual, distracted, slightly guilty tone she’d been recounting much of her story in fading.

“There were hundreds of them,” she said softly. “Crawling and squirming, coming out of her and into my mouth and down my throat, while she clamped her legs around my face so I couldn’t pull away. Tiny spiders, everywhere, instantly replacing how she tasted with… I woke up after a few seconds of that, coughing. I…”

Daisy shuddered and moved closer; she wasn’t speaking, unsure that saying anything would be what Basira needed. What were you even meant to say in situations like this?

After a second, Basira cleared her throat. She coughed again. When she spoke, her tone was a little more confident, if still shaky.

“That was a week ago,” Basira said. “She’s only made me do it once more, so far. Even knowing what would happen I still found myself obeying her and… anyway. Most dreams are normal, like it was at Hill Top Road, or when she hurt me, though the latter’s becoming more common. I think she’s pushing me. She wants to see how much I’m still going to react to, and what I’ll do for her despite that.

“I… It was just a couple of days ago that when I dreamt of the web, it wasn’t the same.

“I wasn’t alone any more. I wasn’t as free either, I was cocooned up in the silk, arms tight against my sides and web around my hair. My face was free, but I couldn’t turn around like before. I could hear them though. Whimpering, breathing… The web around me vibrated in what I assumed was struggling.

“A spider crawled up the web; it was huge, bigger than any human, but when I looked at it I instinctively felt it was Annabelle. It looked back with all its eyes, and it crept close to me. I shuddered. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t resist or fight back, though I tried. The web held me too tightly.

“I’d never seen her like that before. At least, I think it was her; I’d only ever dreamt about her. It might just have been a monster.

“It stood over me. I’d never been so close to a spider’s mouth before; you don’t really think of them as having jaws, but they do. Two mandibles stretched out and brushed my cheek. Eight legs rested on the web all around me, and she shifted until her bulk was over me.

“That was when one of her legs pressed against the web cocoon and pushed through the threads, and I felt it slide between my legs. It was long and furry and warm and I knew-

“That was what made me sure it was Annabelle. She raped me again, and I had to stare into the spider’s face as I came again and again despite every part of my body screaming no. There was no hypnotism that time, or whatever it was she does. I didn’t feel any curiosity, any guilty desire, she never made me beg or ask for it, she never took pleasure in showing me how wet I was. She just made me cum when I so desperately wanted anything else.

“I think she was trying to push my limits. She managed _that_. I don’t know how long it was before she withdrew her leg, both of them, the one that she’d started with and the second she’d slipped under a-after. She didn’t even say ‘thank you’ that time, like she normally did.

“She left me panting there, aching, for the rest of the night. And…”

Basira faltered again. Before Daisy could interject, Basira hurried on, voice shaking.

“I heard her reach the next person by me, and I heard them scream too, only their scream wasn’t- They _enjoyed_ it. And the web moved enough that I could turn, I could s-see what she was doing.

“I saw one of Annabelle’s other victims, not too far away, the spider over them and their body bloated with e-eggs. And I woke up.”

She was trembling now. She’d gone through a variety of expressions while talking, from embarrassed to almost guilty, but that was the first time she’d looked outright scared. Daisy stared, disturbed.

Daisy still rested a hand on Basira’s; Basira rested her other on top of Daisy’s, biting her lip.

“I didn’t dream that last night,” Basira said. “Last night was just a normal one, tied up in the web while she hurt me, but I don’t think that’s going to be the last time. And…”

She pulled on Daisy’s hand.

“What?” Daisy said softly.

She let Basira guide her hand down, until it was below the table, and then between Basira’s legs. She’d undone her own trousers, giving Daisy more than enough room to slip inside. Taking the invitation, her fingers skated across Basira’s soaked core.

Her fingers lingered for a moment. Then they stroked, and Basira gasped. She still gripped Daisy’s wrist.

Daisy couldn’t take her eyes off Basira’s face. She was still reeling, honestly; when Basira had said she was going to talk about her dreams, this wasn’t what Daisy had expected.

Fuck the entities. Fuck Annabelle. Whatever cocktail of guilt and shame the Web’s control might cause, Basira didn’t deserve any of it.

She wasn’t sure what made her decide the Archives of all places was the place to use her fingers, but Basira had dragged her hand there and she wasn’t yet focused enough to dwell on why. She just knew that Basira wanted it and that some part inside herself was roaring to give it.

Her, not Annabelle, not any spider or monster.

Basira came, shuddered, a ten-second vice-grip on Daisy’s wrist before she slumped back. She didn’t let go.

“That- that wasn’t why I…” Basira said, panting. “Thank you. I… needed that.”

“What did you…” Daisy said.

“Lower,” Basira said.

Daisy frowned, and dipped her fingers down lower, moving from soaked lips for her eyebrows to raise as she tapped hard plastic.

A plug? Sure, they had toys, but Basira had never felt comfortable with wearing any toy like that at work. She definitely wouldn’t have without saying anything.

“I… sometimes I follow a spider to our drawer,” Basira said. “It chooses one, and I- I can’t help myself. She’s reminding me of what she- of her. I can feel it.”

“Should we stop her?” Daisy said.

“No- yes- I-” Basira began. She swallowed. “I’m scared, Daisy. Really scared. You know I love you, but it doesn’t seem to matter because when I think of her I don’t think of how much I should hate her. I think of… a million things. She’d never stop me being afraid but there’s more stuff too, and I don’t know how much of that is her doing and how much is just me.”

“It’s her,” Daisy said. “All of it. And even if it isn’t, it doesn’t make a difference. You don’t deserve that.”

“I saw, in the dream,” Basira said. She stammered slightly. “I- I saw what I think she wants to do to me. They’re getting more extreme, and if it gets that far… I’m afraid that when it does, I might not mind any more.”

Daisy paused, lost for words. Empty platitudes had never really been her thing. She was trying to be kinder, but it was hard with the blood roaring in her ears, coaxing.

“I love you,” Daisy said. “She’s not going to do anything more to hurt you. I promise.”

Basira nodded shakily; Daisy had never seen her like that. Quietly, Basira moved back. She reached for the tape recorder on the table and click it off, before pocketing it; that wasn’t for anyone else’s ears.

* * *

Hill Top Road looked the same, in theory. Something about it seemed much more unnerving to Daisy though, now; she pushed past that feeling. She knew what else had happened there.

It had been easy enough to find the place again. Daisy wasn’t sure what she’d have done if it hadn’t been. She was a hair’s breadth from calling on something she shouldn’t as it was, and it was taking every ounce of self control not to let it loose.

For Basira. To make sure she was safe, to make sure…

The door to the house opened. At the glimpse of Annabelle, Daisy lifted her firearm and shot a full clip of bullets at her. Annabelle stood there.

There were holes in her chest, but no blood. Just tiny, black, skittering spiders that wove patches of silk as she watched to fill in the fresh gaps in her dark skin. Annabelle didn’t blink. Instead, she smiled.

“Huntress,” Annabelle said. “Come into my parlor.”

Daisy glowered. Then she took a step closer.

Bullets didn’t work. She was just web now, apparently, a puppet of the spiders made of silk and thread. That meant she’d need something else; Daisy kept those thoughts at arm’s length, the careful, calculating part of her ticking through the options as she took a careful step closer.

Keep calm. Keep control. She’d had practise fighting off the Hunt, she ought to be able to resist the Web.

She crossed the threshold into the bare front room. Basira was laying on the couch, a spider crossing her forehead before slipping under her veil. Daisy froze.

Basira stood up jerkily, like her limbs were being pulled by strings, and turned to face Daisy. She smiled.

“Ah, the possessive huntress, I knew it wouldn’t be long,” Basira’s voice spoke, but it wasn’t her speaking.

“Welcome,” Annabelle continued smoothly.

Daisy dropped her gun. Suddenly it was very hard to focus, as if cobwebs were getting in the way of her thoughts.

“I- You wanted me?” Daisy said.

“Naturally,” Annabelle said.

“Why?”

“To terrify you,” Annabelle said. “Or to use the two of you to spy on the Institute. Or to feed you to my patron. Or to use both of you to help me with a few baser needs. Does it really matter?”

Basira took a step closer. Daisy forced herself to look away from Annabelle; Basira didn’t seem any different, but seeing her here said far too much.

Annabelle, the avatar of the Web, the one who manipulated with lies. Daisy swallowed.

“How much of it was true?” Daisy said.

“None of it, I chose her the first time I stepped in here,” Basira said, but continued in the same way as Annabelle. “Or all of it. Things only changed a while ago. Or this morning; you were just a little too late, this is what happens when the eggs hatch.”

A spider crawled out from her nose. Daisy shuddered, and Basira took another step closer. Daisy didn’t move away.

“You’ll stay, won’t you?” Annabelle said. “You’d never leave her alone here, no matter what it meant you had to endure. And part of you is curious; she spun such vivid tales, part of you wants to know if it’s really as good as-”

“Stop it!” Daisy said. She wrenched her gaze back to Annabelle, raising her voice. “Do you think I don’t know you’re just trying to mess with my head?”

“Perhaps,” Annabelle said. “Am I wrong?”

“I’m not- I won’t let you do any of that to me,” Daisy said.

“I do love the taste of liars,” Annabelle said.

Annabelle wasn’t moving; she was just watching, evidently pleased with herself, and Basira took one more step nearer.

Daisy met her eyes, and Basira looked back with such a familiar gaze. Daisy swallowed.

“Basira…” Daisy whispered.

Basira closed the distance between them and kissed her, and Daisy let herself surrender to the familiar sensation. She wanted very, very much to believe that was her choice.

**Author's Note:**

> “Average person eats three spiders every year,” factoid actually just statistical error. Average person eats zero spiders per year. Basira Hussain, who lives in London and does seriously kinky shit with an avatar of the Web, is an outlier and should not have been counted.


End file.
